More Than We Bargained For
by I Am Your Singer 2006
Summary: What if Eric had kissed Ariel just before sunset on the wedding barge? How would things have changed?
1. Chapter 1

_The Little Mermaid _just happens to be my favorite Disney animated movie, so I guess I should have expected that I would write a fanfic of it at some point. This is a scene that I've thought about a lot recently. What would have happened if Eric really had kissed Ariel just before sunset? Would they have gone straight to the happy ending? Would there still have been struggles for them? How would Ursula have reacted? How would King Triton have felt? How would Ariel explain to Eric who she was?

Chapter 1

It had been the second time in the past three days that Sebastian felt completely powerless. The first time it had happened, it had been after King Triton had destroyed Ariel's collection of human things. He had accidentally revealed to King Triton that Ariel had fallen in love with a human that she had saved from drowning. He feared that Ariel would never trust him again. It felt even worse this time. He had just seen Prince Eric standing next to another woman, claiming that _she_ had rescued him. That didn't make any sense. _Ariel_ had saved him, not this other woman. But there was no way he could find out. Ariel still couldn't speak, and Sebastian couldn't risk showing himself. He could only look on as Ariel lost her chance with the prince. That was how he now found himself on the dock from which the wedding ship had just departed. Ariel was sitting, hugging her knee to her chest, arms crossed over her knees, covering her face. A single tear trickled down her cheek and landed in the water near Flounder. The small fish was fighting to hold back his own tears. He and Sebastian had done everything they could for her, and gladly would have done it again, but it still didn't turn out to be enough. For now, they could only wait until sunset, when the Sea Witch would come after her for failing. They could only hope that her father would somehow find a way to save her.

"Ariel!"

The three of them looked up and saw Scuttle flying towards the as fast as he could. They had last seen him when he had mistakenly believed that Eric had decided to marry her. As he landed, he gestured out towards the water.

"Ariel, I was flying, I - of course I was flying, and I saw that the watch - the witch was watching in a mirror and she was singing with a stolen set of pipes. Do you hear what I'm telling you? The prince is marrying the sea witch in disguise!"

"Are you sure about dis?"

"Have I ever been wrong? I mean, when it's important?"

Ariel stood up and watched the boat as it edged closer to the horizon. Ursula's words echoed in her mind.

_Before the sun sets on the third day…_

Ariel suddenly knew what she had to do. She ran to the edge of the dock and dove into the water. Sebastian quickly saw that Ariel couldn't swim. For a second he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Ariel could swim faster than any mermaid he knew, but as a human she could barely stay afloat. The crab quickly ran towards a line of barrels and cut the rope that held them in place. The barrels rolled into the water.

"Ariel, grab on ta dat!"

She obeyed and grabbed a barrel that still had a piece of rope tied to it.

"Flounder, you get ta dat boat as fast as you fins can carry you!"

"I'll try!"

"I got ta get to da Sea King. He needs ta know about dis."

"What about me?"

"You, find a way ta stall dat wedding!"

And with that, he jumped into the water and made his way to Atlantica. As he made his way closer to the palace, various fish and mer-people asked him where he had been. Sebastian ignored them and continued to swim as fast as he could. He was nearly out of breath by the time he reached the throne room. He found the king hunched forward in his seat, head leaning off to one side and resting against the palm of his hand.

"Your Majesty!" he shouted as he came within earshot of King Triton. The king broke out of his pensive state and looked straight ahead. His eyes widened as he saw the royal court composer for the first time in nearly three days.

"Sebastian! Where have you been? We've looked everywhere for you! Where is Ariel?"

Sebastian inwardly cringed at what he would have to tell the king, but he brushed that all aside for the moment and instead said, "Your Majesty, you need ta come with me right now! Ariel's in trouble!"

Triton snapped to full attention. His worst fear had been confirmed. He wouldn't wait for an explanation, so he quickly grabbed Sebastian and began to swim out of the throne room.

"What kind of trouble, Sebastian? The Sharkanians? The Mooray? _Humans?_"

"Trouble from da sea witch!"

"Sea witch?" he asked, fear seeping into his voice.

"Come with me and I'll explain what happened. We have no time to lose! We have ta go to da surface!"

"Why do we need to go there?"

Sebastian took a deep breath. "Ariel met wit da Sea Witch right after you left. She turned her into a human." Sebastian wasn't able to get another word out before the king roared, "She what!?"

"She turned her into a human for three days, and made Ariel give up her voice. De human she rescued just happens to be a prince and he needs to kiss her by sunset or else Ariel will be bound to da witch. But now Ursula has disguised herself as a human and is using Ariel's voice to fool da prince inta marrying her!"

This made Triton swim even faster. Mer-folk watched as the Sea King sped past them. Once they were outside the kingdom, Triton asked, "Why didn't you report this to me the moment it happened?"

Sebastian kept silent as he thought about that one. He didn't want to tell him what really happened, that he caved when he realized that Ariel would never truly be happy as a mermaid anymore. The Sea King probably wouldn't have taken that answer too well.

"I…I thought about it, Your Majesty, really I did. But you know how Ursula is. I doubt she'd let Ariel go back. I thought the only way I could help her was by finding dat prince. I tried to get them to kiss while he took her on a boat ride. It looked like he was about to kiss her when the boat suddenly tipped over. I don't know how that happened. The water was completely calm."

Triton seemed to accept this with a nod, and the two of them continued swimming. He was very surprised when he heard what Sebastian had said about this human, but he would have to question him about it later. They soon found Ursula, and she appeared to be fuming. Triton quickly placed himself in front of her and thundered, "Ursula, stop!" For added emphasis, he threateningly pointed his trident at her. The Sea Witch started back for a moment before straightening herself and assuming a calm demeanor.

"King Triton," she chuckled. "How are you?"

"Where is she? Let her go."

"Where is who?"

"Don't play games with me, Ursula! You know very well who I'm talking about! Where is Ariel?"

"She isn't mine to give back to you. She and I made a deal." With that she waved her hand and the contract that Ariel had signed earlier magically appeared.

"Yes, I know all about your _deal_ you made with her," Triton spat. "Tell me, did you ever intend to let her win? I know all about how that boat tipped over just as she and the human were about to kiss."

"I have to admit that she's far more resilient than I had thought. She actually managed to do it. She was the first soul to actually come close to completing her deal, let alone meeting it. She's human now, permanently," she added nonchalantly. "Not even your _precious _trident can turn her back. Of course, I always was a girl with an eye for a bargain. The daughter of the great Sea King is a very precious commodity, and she makes for a rather pretty piece of leverage."

"What are you getting at, Ursula?" Triton asked suspiciously.

"It's simple, really. You want your daughter back. I can give you your daughter back, but you have something I want," she began. Triton watched her warily and saw her eyes briefly dart to his trident. The Sea King stiffened as he pulled it closer towards him and strengthened his grip on it.

"Have you gone insane?" he shouted. "If you think I'm going to let you of all people rule over the entire ocean," he started.

"Ah, but think of your daughter. Do you really think she's safe up there? With those…barbarians?" she asked tauntingly.

Triton's thoughts swam chaotically through his mind. He knew full well that Ursula had no real concern for Ariel's well-being. This was nothing more than a ploy to get what she wanted. He then remembered what Sebastian had told him. The prince needed to kiss her. If Ariel had kept up her end of the deal, then that meant the prince must have kissed her. The thought brought even more confusion. A human had kissed his daughter? A human, the very species that he had believed was the greatest threat to the mer-people? A human was in love with her? He turned towards Sebastian and silently asked him what he thought. Sebastian silently nodded once and the king turned back towards the sea witch, and furiously shook his head.

"I will not agree to this, Ursula," he growled.

Ursula stood unmoving. For some reason this unsettled Triton. He would have expected her to show some form of frustration. She had to be plotting something else.

"Suit yourself, Triton," she said bitingly. "I would check to see if your daughter really is safe."

And with that, she left. Triton breathed a sigh of relief. Ariel had managed to escape from Ursula's grasp. But it probably wouldn't be long before he would have to confront Ursula again. This wasn't the first time she had attempted to seize his trident, and he suspected that she would probably try again soon. They continued swimming and soon met with Flounder.

"Did…did she make it in time?" he asked. Sebastian could see that he was clearly nervous, so he wasted no time in nodding his head. Flounder's face immediately lit up as he spun happily around. "We did it!" he shouted. Triton watched silently as Sebastian and Flounder seemed to celebrate. He wouldn't deny that he was quite relieved that Ariel was safe from Ursula, but he was not particularly enthusiastic about the fact that Ariel was now human. He pointedly cleared his throat and asked Flounder to escort them to Ariel. The fish nodded and led them in the direction of the wedding barge.

They didn't swim that far when he saw a dark shadow overhead. That must have been the wedding ship. He had to meet with Ariel to see if she really was safe. Triton, Flounder, and Sebastian swam up towards the surface. Triton swam alongside the boat. As he grabbed on to the side, he heard an unmistakable voice say, "Eric, please, we need to get back to shore."

_Eric._

The name sounded familiar to the Sea King. But he didn't remember where. None of his subjects were named Eric, so it couldn't have been anyone from Atlantica.

_Why, Eric, run away with you? This is all so…so sudden._

He had heard Ariel whisper this to the statue just before she saw that he was in her grotto. Eric must have been the human prince!

Sebastian quickly climbed up the side of the ship. Triton followed just behind him. Neither one was quite ready for what they saw when they reached the deck.

…

Flounder swam as fast as he could, but Ariel feared that it still wasn't enough. The boat seemed to be getting farther away from them. Almost sensing her fears, he briefly glanced behind and said, "Don't worry, Ariel. We're going to make it. We're almost there."

_Please be right, Flounder. Please be right…_

Flounder turned back ahead and saw that the boat had suddenly stopped. He began to pull harder on the rope, trying to pull Ariel even faster. There wasn't much time left, as the sun, large in the sky, was just beginning to disappear below the horizon.

_Flounder, please hurry!_

With one final burst of speed, Flounder pulled up alongside the barge. As he came to a stop, Ariel reached forward and grabbed a pole hanging down from the top deck. She wrapped her legs around the pole and used her arms to pull herself upwards. When she reached the top deck, she grabbed hold of the barge's deck railing. Her crystal-blue eyes widened as she saw that the deck was in chaos. She had looked up just in time to see three dolphins spit water in someone's face. As they went back into the water, Scuttle flew right up to her face and screeched at the top of his lungs. She could see Ursula's shell! An idea came to her. Her voice was inside that shell. If she could grab it and break it, maybe she could get her voice back, and Eric would know that she had saved him. She began to climb over the railing. She heard a scream as she settled down on the other side. As she looked up, she saw the shell flying towards her. The shell landed at her feet, where it broke into several large pieces. Her voice echoed through the air and a light rose from the broken pieces. Eric groaned suddenly as he rubbed his temple with one of his hands. Several of the wedding guests turned in confusion towards her. Ursula looked up and glared daggers at her. Ariel couldn't help but smile as the light reached her mouth and the last notes came from her lips. Her voice had returned to her.

"Ariel?" Eric asked in slight confusion.

"Eric!" she cried happily as Max came up to her.

"You…you can talk?" Eric asked, leaving Ursula's side to join Ariel.

"Eric, get away from her!" Ursula shouted, and stopped in shock when she remembered that she no longer had control of Ariel's voice.

"It was you all the time!" He felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner. He should have realized it when he first saw her. She looked just like the girl who had rescued him. He took both of her hands in his.

"Oh, Eric, I wanted to tell you." She reached up to kiss him.

"Eric, no!" Ursula shouted one last time, but it was too late. Ariel's lips met Eric's just moments before the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. Ariel saw the sun set out the corner of her eyes and suddenly wrapped her arms around Eric, clinging to him tightly. She shut her eyes tightly and began shaking all over. Eric looked down at her, his face a mix of both confusion and fear. "Ariel?" he asked gently. Ariel said nothing and rested her head against his chest, whimpering slightly. She feared that she had still somehow failed. Suddenly she felt a cooling sensation begin at her waist and slowly travel down her legs. She pulled back from Eric to look down at her legs. She smiled when she realized that they weren't changing back. She had managed to beat the Sea Witch. But she didn't have much time to think on this when another voice rang out.

"Would someone please explain to me what on earth just happened?"

They both turned to see Grimsby openly staring at them. Many of the other guests were looking around in confusion as well. They were still under the impression that Eric was about to be married and now he was kissing another woman. Words couldn't begin to describe how improper most of them saw this. Eric stepped back and took in his surroundings. He saw that he was standing on a boat deck surrounded by various nobles and monarch from neighboring kingdoms.

"Why am I on a boat?" he asked.

"I can explain all this," Ariel said quickly.

Grimsby blinked a few times before saying, "Yes, I'm particularly curious to hear how you made it all the way out here, and can somehow now speak."

Ariel knew right away where she would start explaining things. She pointed a finger at Ursula and began, "That woman," before stopping when she saw that Ursula was no longer there. She had seemingly disappeared from sight. All the guests followed where she had pointed and they began to murmur among themselves when they saw that Ursula had vanished. Ariel suddenly began to feel a sense of dread. If Ursula had tried to sabotage her chances of getting Eric to kiss her, then she must not have intended to let her win. She probably intended to use Ariel as a pawn for something. Ursula was probably furious that she had gotten Eric to kiss her. She might be furious enough to attack the boat. As a mermaid, she probably would have had better chances of surviving such an attack. But as a human, she was at a greater risk, because she could now end up drowning. She hadn't forgotten that it nearly happened to her when she had first been turned into a human. And that meant that all these other people could get hurt, too.

"Where's Vanessa?" Grimsby asked incredulously. "How did she suddenly just disappear?"

"Who's Vanessa?" Eric asked in confusion.

"Her name is Ursula, not Vanessa," Ariel quickly said.

"You know her?" Grimsby asked.

Ariel nodded and said, "Well enough to know that we need to leave here and get back to land."

"What?" Eric asked.

"Eric, please, we need to get back to shore."

"Wait, Ariel," Eric began before Ariel cut him off.

"Eric, please, we're not safe here! That woman is a powerful witch and we're all in danger if we stay out here!" she cried, sounding completely panicked.

"Wait, Ariel, what do you mean that woman is a witch?" Eric asked. Ariel opened her mouth to answer, before another voice spoke up.

"That woman was the powerful Sea Witch, Ursula."

Ariel gasped when she heard the voice. It was the voice of her father.

…


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, everyone, I'm back with another chapter! Thank you everyone who has reviewed, favorited or followed this fanfic. I already have 20 favorites? Seriously, you people are amazing! I really hope you like this chapter, but most of it is introductions and explanations.

Chapter 2

The entire wedding party turned their heads towards the voice. There was a collective gasp at what they saw. At the ship's railing stood a large, muscular, bare-chested man. He wore a five-pointed crown on his head. In one of his hands he held a large, golden, trident. Large golden bracelets adorned both of his wrists. Even though he appeared to be hanging over the side of the boat, his other hand merely rested on the railing. The guests continued to stare at the man in confusion. The crown on his head indicated that he was royalty but none of them recognized him.

Ariel gasped again when she saw her father. She didn't think that she would ever see her father again. But now here he was, right in front of her. She had to protect Eric. Once again she threw her arms around Eric, shaking. Eric slowly wrapped his arms around her in return. He slowly rubbed his hands up and down her back. Triton looked back towards where Ariel was standing. Her arms were wrapped around a human not much older than she was. He assumed that he was the human his daughter was in love with. He saw how Ariel had wrapped her arms around him. He looked down at his trident. He then looked back up at them. She had wrapped her arms around this human because she was trying to protect him. She was afraid that he would try to hurt him.

Triton suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He no longer cared that his youngest daughter was now human. He no longer cared that she had met with the sea witch. The only thing he cared about was that his youngest daughter, the one he loved so dear, was _terrified_ of him. He thought that his heart was about to break in two at the sight.

"Ariel, I," he began hesitantly.

She only grabbed onto the human even tighter and began whimpering. The human looked at him and eyed him with suspicion.

Triton realized he would have to tread very lightly here. He had already hurt his daughter enough. He had no intention of hurting any of these humans. If anything, he owed a great amount of gratitude towards this human. He had effectively saved Ariel's life by kissing her. Triton sighed. He would have to be civil with these humans.

"Young man," he said softly, "would you please escort my youngest daughter to me?"

Eric looked down at Ariel. Ariel looked up towards Eric and nervously bit her lip. She was afraid of letting Eric anywhere near her father, but she was just as afraid of what he would do if they didn't listen to him. Then she realized that he wouldn't be able to do anything as long as she had her arms around Eric. Eric could do what was asked of him. She nodded.

Eric carefully guided Ariel towards the railing. He stopped once he was right in front of Triton. Ariel kept her arms wrapped around him. Triton hesitated, trying to find the right words.

Triton then realized that he had to do more than just reassure her that he would not hurt him. He then carefully laid his trident down on the deck and softly asked, "Ariel, could you please come here?" Ariel slowly slipped out of Eric's embrace and stood in front of her father. For a few seconds, they both stood completely still, not saying anything to each other.

She found it hard to read his expression. She expected him to be angry at her. But Triton's expression showed no apparent emotion. At that moment Triton felt a mix of emotions. He was upset over what his daughter had done, but at the same time felt that he was ultimately responsible for it. He felt relieved that she was safe from Ursula but at the same time he was wary of the other humans. Ariel began to tremble again, fear talking hold of her. Triton took a long, deep, breath. Since he was there, he had a chance to see if these humans weren't a threat to her. He held out his hand towards her. Ariel hesitantly took it and stepped forward.

Triton slowly wrapped his arms around her. Ariel seemed to relax at this. She then wrapped her arms around him.

"Ariel, I'm sorry about what I did," he whispered. When he saw Ariel as a human, he believed that he was at least partially responsible for what had happened.

"I'm sorry, too. You must have been so worried about me," she said guiltily. Her family had probably been searching the entire kingdom for her, maybe even beyond it.

"I'm so relieved that you're alright."

Triton looked up from their embrace and looked towards Eric. He had taken a few steps backwards and was now standing next to another human. Triton looked back at Ariel and tilted his head towards Eric.

"Ariel, is that the human?"

Ariel turned around and looked towards Eric and nodded. Sebastian's words then ran through King Triton's mind. The human needed to kiss her by sunset or she would be bound to Ursula. Sunset had obviously since passed and Ariel was still human. Even with that in mind, Triton still felt uncertain.

"Ariel, did he kiss you?"

He already knew the answer, but he felt the need to ask her regardless. When Ariel looked at him in slight confusion, he explained, "Sebastian told me about the deal you made with Ursula. I came here to see if you were alright."

Ariel smiled brightly as she nodded again.

"Yes. Oh, daddy, Eric has taken such good care of me. He's taken me on a tour of his kingdom. He took me on a boat ride," she began.

"I've treated her like an honored guest since she arrived on our shores," Eric spoke up. "And I will continue to treat her as such since I can see that she is royalty, although I must confess that I do not recognize you, Your Majesty," he clumsily finished.

Triton nodded, surprising himself when a short chuckle escaped his lips. Ariel smiled when she heard it. She motioned for Eric to come closer, now that she could see that her father wouldn't hurt him. He then walked over and joined them at the railing.

Many of the wedding guests were now watching the spectacle in front of them with great interest. Anyone wo wasn't paying attention soon would when they heard Ariel say, "Daddy, this is Eric. Eric, this is my father, King Triton of Atlantica."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Eric saw Triton's tail. His eyes widened more than he thought possible. Many guests had a similar reaction. Others gasped. Others began to murmur amongst themselves, trying to grasp the fact that King Triton, the legendary ruler of the seas, was, in fact, real. "King…Triton?" Eric asked, clearly shocked. He then shuddered and grabbed on to the railing. Grimsby ran up behind him and began to help steady him.

"Eric!" Ariel gasped and grabbed onto him.

"I'm sorry, Ariel. This is just a lot to take in."

Eric then turned took a deep breath and turned back to look at Grimsby.

"Nautical nonsense, Grim?" he teased.

Grimsby stuttered at this remark. He had been so adamant that merpeople did not exist and now he realized that he would never hear the end of it from the sailors. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well, no respectable person has ever claimed to have seen one," he maintained.

"Have you forgotten that _I _once thought I saw one? Am I not a respectable person?" Eric asked, feigning offense.

Grimsby smirked and patted the boy on his shoulder. "Now Eric, you know that isn't what I meant."

"I know, Grim. But still, King Triton is real and merpeople _do_, in fact, exist. I can't wait to tell the sailors about this." Eric's eyes shone with excitement at this, excitement that Grimsby did not return. "And I hope to be as far away from that conversation as possible, he groaned, making Ariel giggle. "And they'll actually get to meet one," Eric trailed off. He suddenly was slightly confused. If Ariel was King Triton's youngest daughter, how was she a human? Shouldn't she have been a mermaid? He turned back to them and asked, "But how is that you're now human, Ariel?"

Ariel hesitated when Eric asked this. She knew that he would have to find out at some point since he had seen her father, but she was fearful of how he would react. Had she accidentally placed him and his kingdom in danger by meeting with the sea witch? If she had, would Eric be angry with her? Would he still want her? Her heart began to beat faster. Would Eric suddenly reject her? She tried to open her mouth to speak, her father began to speak.

"It is a rather long story that goes back to what Ariel had said earlier. The sea witch Ursula is very involved in this story and it would be best if we explained things once we return to the shore," he explained, picking up his trident from the floor.

And with that, Triton let go of the railing and dove back into the water. Triton then laid down his trident on the water and pointed it towards the ship. A ripple of energy shot out from the trident. The ripple engulfed the boat in a golden light and it began to move quickly towards the shore. Several of the wedding guests grabbed onto the railing for support. Eric moved to walk towards the railing but Ariel stopped him and smiled in reassurance. Eric nodded and stayed by her side. The boat soon returned to shore. Several men secured the ship to the dock. One by one each of the wedding guests disembarked from the ship. Eric could hear many of them conversing about what they had just seen. It had been quite an eventful day to say the least. They had expected to see Prince Eric finally marry, and ultimately they had ended up meeting the legendary king of the sea. Many were still confused about who this "sea witch" was. Some began to speculate that Eric would soon marry Ariel. It was clear that he was quite smitten with her, and she was, after all, royalty.

As they stepped onto the dock, Eric pulled Grimsby aside and suggested that they prepare the guest rooms. Grimsby nodded and informed him that he had done that as part of the wedding preparations. Eric wanted to laugh at that. He had nearly forgotten that wedding had very nearly taken place. As he thought about it further, he suddenly felt unnerved. The "woman" he had nearly married was a powerful sea witch that had placed him under a spell. The thought was not only unnerving, but surreal as well. But that had all been avoided thanks to Ariel. The mere thought of her made him smile. He now knew that she was the one he wanted to marry. He then felt Ariel's hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Eric," she tried to reassure him.

"I know, Ariel. I'm just worried that she might come back."

Ariel shuddered, knowing that Ursula would have more reason to come after her and not Eric. "Me, too," she whispered. "I don't think I could stand to lose you, not after we're together now."

He looked out at the water and steeled his gaze.

_If she does come back, I'll be waiting. I'll fight her every day if it means keeping Ariel safe from her._

"I won't let her take you," he said with determination. "If she tries, I will fight her with everything I have."

"We should probably head back inside before people start wondering where we are."

They turned to return to the palace when they heard someone clearing their throat. The couple turned around and saw Triton floating near the dock. He looked up at them and motioned for Ariel and Eric to speak with him. They turned back and sat down at the edge of the dock, their legs dangling over the side.

"I think now is a good time to explain things," Triton began. "I'm assuming you know by now that Ariel is the one who saved you from drowning earlier."

It suddenly made sense to Eric. The storm had happened in the middle of the ocean. They were nowhere close to shore. By all accounts he should have drowned. It now made sense that Ariel was a mermaid. Otherwise she wouldn't have been that far out in the water. Eric frowned, realizing that he had still yet to properly thank her. He reached out and took one of her hands in his. "Thank you, Ariel," he told her, a bright smile coming to his face.

"Oh, Eric, I couldn't have let you drown. I just knew I had to make sure you were alright."

"So then why did you leave before I could talk to you?"

"For many years I have forbidden contact with the human world. But Ariel has never been one to obey that rule. She's always had a certain interest with your world."

"Forbidden?" Eric asked. It explained why he had never seen a mermaid before. But why had her father done that?

"I have a very strained relationship with humans. Many humans eat fish, and I find this practice to be especially barbaric, since merpeople are, after all, half-fish themselves. I have six other daughters besides Ariel, and I forbade contact with humans because I feared that they might one day get caught on a hook."

Eric could feel his stomach drop at that, even though it once again made complete sense to him. His mind then wandered back to two days earlier. They had eaten stuffed crab on Ariel's first day in the palace. He remembered that Ariel looked very uncomfortable as they ate that evening. She had left her plate largely untouched. Eric had tried to ask her what was wrong, but she could only make hand gestures that he couldn't decipher. He couldn't have figured it out at the time since Ariel was still mute, but that didn't stop him from feeling a little guilty about what had turned out to be a misunderstanding.

"Well, I can assure you, Your Majesty, that no civilized human would ever wish to eat a mermaid, because mermaids are, after all, half-human as well," he explained, echoing Triton's words. "And I can promise that I will no longer eat fish, now that I know of Ariel's past," he hastily added when he saw that Triton didn't seem appeased.

"I don't know if I can promise you that my kingdom will stop fishing," he added solemnly. "My kingdom heavily relies on it for commerce. Our economy could be crippled if I did that. But believe me when I say that if there was a way, I would do it without any hesitation."

Triton frowned. As a fellow monarch, he knew well that he had been forced to make many difficult decisions throughout his reign. He imagined that it probably wasn't much different on land. But this would have to be done if ever wished to trust the human world. And he now found that he did since Ariel was now a part of it. Even if he didn't, he still wanted to keep his subjects safe.

"Well, I didn't come here to discuss diplomacy with you. If you would, I would like to discuss this with you tomorrow morning. I'm sure we can think of something that will help us achieve both of our wishes."

"Of course."

"Now, as I was saying, despite this ban on contact with humans, my youngest daughter has made many trips to the surface, but from what I understand, she had never met a human before she met you. She and I have never seen eye to eye on this, and we've argued over it many times in the past. Things finally came to a head after I learned about you. We had the worst argument we'd ever had and I…did something that really hurt her."

"But how does this involves that…Ursula?" Eric began hesitantly.

Triton sighed. He hadn't shared this story with many people, and he was surprised that was he now sharing it with a human.

"Many years ago Ursula was one of my main advisor's at court. She had always been an ambitious individual, and she felt that she needed to be involved with every decision I made. Initially I went along with this, since she was, after all, very highly thought of. She became a little too ambitious for my liking, and I soon discovered that she had begun experimenting with things a disapproved of. Black magic comes to mind. Eventually I learned that she was planning to stage a coup, and so I had her removed from her position and banished from Atlantica. She has continued to be a nuisance, attempting multiple coups since that day. After our argument, Ariel somehow got in contact with Ursula. She used her magic on her to turn her into a human. She planned on trying to use Ariel as leverage to somehow take over Atlantica, but since that has failed, she might come back at some point."

Tears began to form in Ariel's eyes. If Ursula came after them…well, she didn't want to think of what would happen. She took a deep breath and looked to her side. She barely lifted her head, too afraid to look Eric in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Eric. I never should have pulled you into this."

Ariel jumped up slightly when she felt someone's arms wrap around her. She looked up and saw Eric hugging her.

"You don't need to apologize, Ariel. If it weren't for all this, you wouldn't be here now," he reassured her. Ariel smiled through her tears and wrapped her arms around him as well, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"Eric?" a voice called out.

Eric and Ariel turned around to see Grimsby approaching them.

"Eric, the guests are waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?"

"Yes, the banquet is about to begin, and it just wouldn't be proper to begin if the two of aren't there. And Ariel needs to change into something a little more suitable."

Eric blinked. "Banquet?" he asked in slight confusion.

"You may remember, Eric, that there was supposed to be a wedding today. And that included a banquet afterwards. Even though there was no wedding we still have guests to feed," he explained with a slight chuckle.

Eric nodded in understanding, now feeling a little hungry himself.

"Wait, it's not fish, is it?" he suddenly asked, worrying how King Triton would react if it was. He was quite relieved when his advisor shook his head and said, "No, I didn't feel that would be appropriate knowing of Ariel's heritage."

Ariel smiled at how kind Eric and his staff were.

"We should get going, daddy, if all these guests are waiting for us."

"And I should probably head back to Atlantica and tell everyone that you're alright. I do hope you keep her safe, Prince Eric."

The king then dove beneath the waves as they waved him goodbye. As he disappeared beneath the waves, Eric held out his hand and asked, "Well, Ariel, shall we?"

Ariel couldn't contain her giggles as she took his hand.

…

Well, I hope you liked it! I may revise certain parts of it at some point, so you should probably check back every so often.


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